Playlist Friday: OurBasement Release Radar Dec/2017

Our playlist this week is all about new songs on our radar this month. Spotify has their Release Radar playlists and now we have an OurBasement Release Radar playlist. This has become a monthly playlist as there are so many songs released every month that 2 months was just too long. All the songs on the playlist today have been released since our last Release Radar in mid November. Some were released with an album but not many. Some singles are in advance of an upcoming album and some are new remixes of an older track. There are a few seasonal tracks in there as well.

I was excited about many tracks on the list, like Certainly by Heavy Bell. Heavy Bell is a duo made up of Royal Canoe frontman Matt Peters and actor/singer-songwriter Tom Keenan. I am loving this first track and look forward to hearing more from this project. Galaxie, U.S. Girls, Donovan Woods, Bahamas, Michael Rault, Wet Secrets and so many more all had new tracks for us to hear. It feels like Christmas!

Melted Wings don’t have tracks on Spotify but Land of Fallen Snow is a personal favourite this month. In case you missed it you can find out more about Michael Wynn’s project on our site here.

I am also really enjoying the track called Beat Wave by Holy Gasp. It is described as big band punk/orchestral hardcore sounds. In the great tradition of The Holy Gasp, no one can quite agree on what to call what they’ve created. The song features 17 players, including Karen Ng (Andy Shauf, Feist and Broken Social Scene), Jessica Upton-Crowe (Beliefs), Nixon Boyd (Hollerado), and many other notable Toronto musicians.This was the first song written for the album, and the first song written after frontman Benjamin Hackman’s divorce. His thoughts on that time below:

When my wife and I split up, I needed to make an extreme lifestyle change. I moved out to Toronto Island and started work on a new record. I started with Beat Wave. I was real depressed at the time. And real lonely, too. Most days I couldn’t get out of bed. I’d lay there on my stinked-up sheets, weeping… wishing for my old life back… They were dark days indeed. I needed to write it out, to laugh at myself, and to take the edge off and find a way to cheer myself up. Divorce shocks the system bad, you know. It makes you ask a whole lotta questions about how you’re gonna live your life and who you’re gonna be in your post-married world. You set out to build a future with someone, and when you call it quits on a marriage, you call it quits on that future too. So you gotta rewrite yourself entirely.

Previously featured band Featurette has a track on our playlist this month as well. The new track is punchy, angry and ticks all the boxes of how the band’s feeling about the current political climate. Here’s the band’s thoughts on the track:

Upside Down is an ode to the decline of our modern world and our values, which for us was punctuated by the US Presidential election, and the fallout thereafter. Everything is so backward lately, we think many of us are feeling it, no matter which side you’re on. When Lexie was writing the lyrics, she couldn’t shake the imagery of Lady Liberty in bed with Donald Trump.

There is some R&B pop on the playlist as well such as Sara Diamond’s Three Words.

Sara was a child star who sold millions of records and became quickly disenchanted with the grind and little control over her trajectory. Now at 22 Sara is releasing original music that she wrote herself, exploring the world from her own perspective without any compromises. Sara’s thoughts on the new song:

Three Words was inspired by the frustration I felt from love being thrown as a word, and not an action. It was produced by Austin Tecks and Noah Barer, with additional production by Lowgo. Recording the song was fun, because I was able to get up there in the emotions and really go for it. It’s not an angry song…it’s a powerful song. About understanding my worth after the fact and knowing where to put my foot down with love. I hope people will recognize their worth in listening to the song. I tried to capture the resentment and frustration that comes from feeling like you were cheated in respect to love. Words can only go so far, and if this song can spark that for people, I’m good to go.

There is so much more new music for you to discover. Take a listen and see what new favourites you may find.

I would love to use a streaming service that was widely accessible and paid artists well. If anyone knows of something I should try let me know. My hope and goal is to share the music and help people hear these artists, love their music and go buy it.

darbarspecial
December 15, 2017 at 07:23

Hi Justin! I hope you enjoy it.

GarfieldUK
December 15, 2017 at 08:14

While I agree that Spotify isn’t good at paying artists well enough, at least I have a feeling that are getting paid through subscriptions or adverts*. But when I look at the likes of Soundcloud an Bandcamp, I can’t see where any money is coming from to pay the artists for me listening to their track.

*This could be faulty logic

darbarspecial
December 15, 2017 at 08:37

Artists themselves are using Spotify a lot to share their music and playlists. It can’t be all bad. :p

I think the idea behind Bandcamp is that people buy the music.
I haven’t listened repeatedly to bandcamp tracks, but I recall at one time, after so many plays, being asked quite regularly to pony up money to buy the damn album, already…

Janet Athanasiou
December 15, 2017 at 10:13

I’ve used SoundCloud a few times, but I don’t know that I’ve ever used Bandcamp.

morgana
December 15, 2017 at 10:16

Good morning friends.
It looks like Christmas has come early! so many tunes to unwrap!!
“The Land of Fallen Snow” is exactly were I am today. Glad we went out into the forest and got our tree a few days ago.

darbarspecial
December 15, 2017 at 10:20

Not many are using Reverbnation these days. Not sure how that fit into the mix.

@morgana, mainly the Facebook integration. I also like that it tells me when my favourite artists are playing near me.

morgana
December 15, 2017 at 10:38

@darbar after I am done your offerings I will play the dine alone playlist. Today I am taking on the last of the wrapping and other paperwork type stuff so I can do a lot of listening. The tunes will surely take the edge off of the paperwork slog; happy day:)

morgana
December 15, 2017 at 10:40

@mrfussyfont I do enjoy the notifications of who is playing near me but I don’t recall anything showing up in my FB. Perhaps I have to make a selection on Spotify or FB so they can talk …

@morgana, how is it possible that Darbar can see you on Spotify and you can’t see her?

Michael J Wynn
December 15, 2017 at 11:50

Thanks for including me Darbs in this! Unfortunately I can’t listen to anything from Work as it’s all blocked. And Janet I think that’s a great question whether artists get more from paid subscriptions. Thanks Garf for clearing that up with that Spotify info about the difference between paid and free streams.

I myself have a subscription, but mostly because I started to want things on demand and my wife & kids also wanted to explore more music.

darbarspecial
December 15, 2017 at 12:14

Hi Wynnsie. My pleasure! I wanted to put you on my playlist but without you being on Spotify yet, that was the next best thing.

justingrady
December 15, 2017 at 12:19

Oh man…. That PUP version ‘You don’t get me high anymore’ is badass

Janet Athanasiou
December 15, 2017 at 12:26

Justin – I agree, I loved it!

darbarspecial
December 15, 2017 at 12:27

I agree too! That was one of the tracks I just added. I was happy to see a PUP song.

morgana
December 15, 2017 at 12:29

@mrfussyfont, beats me!

darbarspecial
December 15, 2017 at 12:30

I think it is because I am following you morgana but you haven’t followed me back.

well when you spoon feed it to me it works! thanks @darbar.
otherwise i can not make Spotify find any of my FB friends; logged into both, checked through preferences to see if I need to change anything … I did see that when I upgraded to the three month trial of Spotify it did not automatically upgrade my audio experience so I threw that switch.

darbarspecial
December 15, 2017 at 12:40

My Spotify isn’t finding friends right now either. My OS is getting old and I thought that might be why. You can look through my followers or following and see if there are ones in there you could add.